Floor coverings such as carpet, carpet tile, and the like are features of substantial importance in a building environment. The purchase of floor covering materials typically represents a fairly substantial investment and may involve a degree of complexity due to the need to coordinate delivery and installation with other activities at the building location. Due to the level of investment involved and the importance of the floor covering to the overall appearance of the facility, the purchase of floor coverings by many large organizations is conducted as part of a centralized coordinated effort. Such centralized purchasing permits the customer to monitor costs and to establish a relatively uniform appearance for different locations in terms of quality and general style. At the same time, within this broad framework of general uniformity, such organizations may oftentimes provide regional or local management with a degree of discretion regarding the final choice of floor covering styles from a preapproved list of alternatives. Once the floor covering is selected, a local or regional representative of the customer generally has responsibility for monitoring the progress of the delivery and installation of the floor covering for locations in that region. At the same time, one or more individuals with more broad-based corporate responsibility will have ultimate responsibility for broader groups of facilities. Thus, one person may have responsibility for installations on a global basis while the details of installations in individual countries and/or regions of countries may be coordinated by other individuals.
Heretofore, the monitoring of floor covering installation projects by a customer has required direct contact between a representative of the customer and a representative of the floor covering manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or the like. Requests for updates and status reports were passed from the representative of the customer to the representative of the floor covering manufacturer who would then obtain the information from the manufacturer and communicate back to the representative of the customer the requested information. Likewise, in the event that a new installation of floor coverings was contemplated, a request for quotation “RFQ” had to be communicated through the representative of the floor covering manufacturer who would then pass the request on to the manufacturer for evaluation. While generally effective, these mechanisms have necessarily led to time delays and potential frustration due to the multiple layers of human interaction required to process and/or respond to requests for information.